Last week saw a number of grim milestones in the Iraq and Afghan wars. The 150th British soldier died in Iraq, closely followed by the 60th British soldier in Afghanistan. Around the same time the US death toll in Iraq reached 3,500. The last available survey-based estimate of Iraqi dead in the war is 650,000, as of June 2006, while in Afghanistan the total figure remains a matter of almost complete guess work. In both countries the situation continues to deteriorate.

In response, the British Casualty Monitor project has been started over at LFCM. They aim to provide regular graphical analysis of casualty trends, initially just for UK troops, that will help in understanding the true burden of the wars and the evolving trends in the conflicts.

Is what Friend says correct? If your blog has been attacked, the only thing it says is that people are afraid of what you are saying (as the Government was apparently afraid of what you were saying when you were in Uzbekistan). In a way, it might be better if they continue to attack the blog. It means people are worried you may be telling the truth.